Saturday, August 27, 2011

Top 5 books Mr. 7 hopes will provide awesome school lunch ideas

List by Kalani

"It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it."- Julia Child

I flunked cooking class in intermediate school when I was 10 years old. Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. What I should have said was that I got a B for sandwich-making. Mrs. Plough said that I 'lacked imagination and creativity.' For sandwich-making. To be fair, she was probably right. What she didn't take into account, however, were two things: 1) being creative on demand is not my forté and 2) playing with food is a kind of cultural taboo for Maori. Sure there's a difference between 'having fun with food' and 'playing with food' but who's really equipped to make that distinction when they're 10 years old? A lack of imagination and creativity - at least as far as sandwiches go - extended to my everyday school lunches. The ones mum made were brilliant. Mine not so much. By the time I was old enough to make my own lunches they were boring. Probably because I saw school lunches as an obligatory meal/chore. Peanut butter sandwiches, jam sandwiches, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, marmite sandwiches, meat paste sandwiches and nutella sandwiches. That was all I ever made and, looking back, I'm realising how pathetic that was. Mum would allow me to choose whatever sandwich fillings I wanted each week and those were the only ones I ever listed. She would pull a face each time but she wanted the choice to be ours no matter how unexceptional. The other week I noticed that my nephew, Kalani, is on the same slippery slope. When I asked what sandwich fillings he would like me to buy his response - "Nutella, please!" - made me wince. It's another 4 years before he has to take cooking classes in intermediate and I'd love it if he wasn't the disaster I was then, which is why I've written this post and encouraged him to choose 5 books that he hopes will provide awesome ideas for school lunches. In a smaller sense this is about sandwiches. In a larger sense this is about not wanting Kalani to be as inhibited as I was about life in general and food in particular. I would like him to expect more from life than nutella sandwiches. Looking at his selection of books, I'm keeping in mind that he's 7 and is all about covers that appeal to kids :)

Kids' healthy lunchbox : over 50 delicious and nutritious recipes for children of all ages / Cara HobdayIf your child's packed lunch usually consists of a tired sandwich, a packet of potato crisps and a chocolate biscuit then this is the book for you! Every day parents around the globe face the usual lunchbox dilemmas: how do you keep coming up with tempting ideas, where do you find the time to make nutritious packed lunches and the hardest part of all - how do you get your children to eat and enjoy their lunches? This book takes the daily strain out of packing a lunchbox with over 50 recipe ideas for sandwiches and wraps to snacks and cakes, and even includes tips for getting your children to help prepare their own lunchboxes! Kids' Healthy Lunchbox also provides ingenious ways of adding healthy fruit and veg to a lunchbox without your kids noticing, to keep them fit and strong and provide all the energy they need for a busy afternoon of work and play.

Kiwi toasties / Astral Sligo"Forget the pies and fish 'n' chips, toasties have been keeping Kiwis going for decades! Whether you get yours from a roadside cafe ; whip up a pile of them at home for family or friends ; or lighten the working day with a lunch-time concoction made on the work's toasted sandwich maker, toasties are the people's choice! Kiwi toasties pay homage to this unbeatable one-stop food, providing heaps of tasty toastie combo suggestions, as well as tips on how to create the ultimate taste-sensation-toastie!" -- Back cover.

400 best sandwich recipes : from classics & burgers to wraps & condiments / Alison LewisSimple to prepare yet sublime to eat -- sandwich recipes for every occasion. This is the go-to book on sandwiches. These recipes can be enjoyed at any mealtime -- not just lunch -- and include a wide array of snacks, appetizers and desserts. In addition to the standard fare, there is a selection of wonderful, intriguing and creative new recipes. With hundreds of choices, 400 Best Sandwich Recipes has the perfect sandwich for anyone's craving, and every recipe can easily be prepared by the home chef. The recipes are organized into: Breakfast and brunch sandwiches Appetizers Lunchbox sandwiches The classics Grilled cheeses Burgers and sliders Wraps International sandwiches American favorites Light and healthy sandwiches Desserts Condiments These outstanding recipes are ideal for the busy home cook who wants to serve tasty, healthy, portable and economical dishes made with fresh ingredients. Very little equipment is needed, and the condiment recipes will enhance any sandwich, turning it into a gourmet meal.

Funky lunch : happy food for happy children / Mark NortheastHow to turn an ordinary lunchtime sandwich into something fun-like Spongebob, Hello Kitty, or a piano-to encourage children to eat a varied and healthy lunch Every parent knows how stressful meal times can be. Young minds need inspiring and this is exactly what the Funky Lunch website set out to do. The book features 50 of the very best Funky Lunch sandwich ideas-from simple farmyard creatures and cucumber crocodiles to favorite characters from the world of children's TV-as well as some fun and creative interactive spreads to help get the little ones involved in choosing and making their lunch. Lunch should never look boring, when it can look just like a rocketship flying through the stars, the Loch Ness monster, a pretty mermaid, or Winnie the Pooh.

Insanewiches : 101 ways to think outside the lunchbox / Adrian Fiorino"With its scrumptious sammies shown on "Today" and in Woman's Day, Insanewiches.com was chosen by Newsweek as one of "America's Favorite Photo Blogs." Now, blogger Adrian Fiorino goes beyond photos and for the first time serves up 101 wildly original recipes for whipping up your own insanewiches in a snap. Sharply designed and written so you'll LOL, the book contains 'wiches for every meal (from Sunrisewiches to Dessertwiches), every holiday and occasion (Eventwiches), every pastime (Gamewiches), every personality (Tough Guywiches to 'Wichy Woman), and every culinary inclination (Supersizewiches, Shapewiches, even OMGwiches). Plus, there's sandwich-engineering tips, recipe variations, utensils to have on hand, serving suggestions, a resource list and more! Get ready to kick run-of-the-mill meals to the curb with: The Rubix Cubewich--the sandwich that started it all The Pancake Popwich--an irresistible breakfast on a stick The Sumo Sandwich--a heavyweight that's overstuffed with steak, chicken, salmon, assorted mushrooms, radish and scallions The Pumpkin Cheeseburger and Along Came a Spider--kooky concoctions the kids will love Cosmo Martini Sandwich--made with a cranberry muffin and orange slices, just for the girls" -- Publisher's description.